Statistical averages

Overall

Fully evolved

Stat

HP:

73.72

Attack:

90.61

Defense:

124.89

Sp.Atk:

83.39

Sp.Def:

94.22

Speed:

57.83

Total:

0

Battle properties

Offensive

Defensive

Power

Types

Power

Types

2×

½×

½×

2×

0×

None

0×

Characteristics

Defensively, Steel-types are considered to be the best type of Pokémon to use. They have resistances to 11 of the 17 types, which can make for a good physical and special tank in battle. They are immune to Template:Type2 attacks and are very tricky to inflict the Poison condition on. They can hold up to many attacks, because of their high Defense, but all 3 of the type's weaknesses are to the very common Fire, Fighting and Ground types. Those defensive flaws are made up by the fact that only a small number of Steel-types are without another type. Their Special Defense is lower than their physical Defense, but is still reasonably high.

Offensively, it is not recommended to use Steel-type moves, because there are only two types weak to Steel: Ice and Rock, both of which are rarely used defensively. There are only two pure Steel-type Pokémon and thus most have a second type able to provide more effective moves that could offset this disadvantage. Steel-type Pokémon have average Attack and Special Attack, though there are some high-powered outliers in the Special field, such as Lucario, Empoleon and Magnezone.
When used in contests, Steel-type moves typically become Cool moves, but can also be of the other four Contest types.

Up until Pokémon Platinum, Weedle was completely unable to damage Steel-type Pokémon because the only damaging move it could learn was Poison Sting, and Steel-types are immune to Template:Type2 moves. From Platinum onwards, Weedle is able to learn Bug Bite via level-up, allowing it to do at least some damage (though Bug is still not very effective).

Because of Magnemite and Magneton's addition of their secondary Steel type in Generation II, there has been at least one Steel-type Pokémon introduced in each generation.

Despite this, there are not Steel-type moves from each generation; Steel is the only type not assigned to a move introduced in Generation I.

Though Steel-type moves deal super-effective damage against both Ice- and Template:Type2 Pokémon, there has not yet been a Pokémon of that type combination, and therefore, Steel-type moves cannot currently deal 4× damage.

All Steel-type moves consist of two words.

All offensive Steel-type moves also target one foe.

Steel is the only type that has a non-neutral type matchup with all seventeen types, considering both offense and defense.